Father & Son one win away from perfection
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON - With three more games on the regular season schedule, the Father & Son Junior American Legion team will attempt to go a perfect 19-0 and head into the county tournament as the team to beat.

Father & Son improved its record to 16-0 with three wins last week that began July 10 with a 9-6 victory over Sayreville.

"That was a game that worried me," Father & Son head coach Tom D'Agostino said. "Sayreville is a well-coached team, and if you don't focus on them, they will beat you. I think that win really brought us together as a team like never before this season, and I'm really proud of this team right now."

Father & Son ace Jared Shukis allowed three runs over six innings to record the win. Shukis walked four and struck out five.

Matt Landrum took the mound in the seventh, and despite allowing Sayreville three more runs he settled down to close it out.

Steve Nappe, Dave Goodman and Anthony Caiola went a combined 9-for-13 at the plate with six RBIs. All three players had three hits apiece.

"That was a big win for us," D'Agostino said. "That one gave us the momentum we needed heading into the showdown with South Brunswick Black."

Before the clash of the league's top two teams that ended last week, Father & Son won its 15th in a row with a 10-5 victory over Old Bridge.

Landrum improved to 4-0 on the season, while teammate Chris Virag picked up his third save to go along with his 3-0 record.

Landrum was steady in five innings of work. He allowed one unearned run off four hits. He walked just three and struck out six.

Brian Pollex scattered five hits and allowed four runs in a relief appearance before Geoff Toro came on to pitch a scoreless seventh. It was Toro's first mound appearance of the season. He also came up big offensively with a 1-for-3 performance and three RBIs.

Caiola went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored, while teammate Dan Lungo went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBIs. Alberto Ruiz also had a pair of hits and two RBIs.

Father & Son then closed out the week with the 14-1 South Brunswick Black team on Saturday.

"We knew it was a big game," D'Agostino said. "I thought if we could win this one, we would have a good shot at playing in the county finals."

Shukis went into the contest with a 5-0 record and an ERA of 0.64, and although he was touched up for a few runs, he did what he was supposed to do and left the game 6-0 on the season.

"That was the biggest game he's ever pitched and he was outstanding," D'Agostino said. "Jared and pitching coach Brandon Beards had a game plan to come inside on hitters, and they stuck with it and got the job done. He made pitches when he needed to and he was impressive."

In 5 and 2/3 innings of work, Shukis allowed two earned runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out five.

"They got four runs off Jared in the sixth inning, as he was victimized by some errors," D'Agostino said. "Virag took the ball from Jared and was lights out."

Virag needed just one pitch to get Father & Son out of the sixth-inning jam and to hold onto an 8-7 lead. After Father & Son put some insurance runs across, Virag pitched a one-two-three seventh inning to seal the win.

Toro and Nappe were offensive stars in the win. Nappe went 2-for-3 with a solo home run to tie the game in the second, while Toro went 3-for-5 with a two-out, RBI-triple in the fifth inning.

"Another key thing for us was the way the guys stepped up," D'Agostino said. "We had three starters out of the lineup, and Nick Errico, Dan Shymanski and Dave Goodman really came through."

Goodman was 3-for-3 with four RBIs, while Errico and Shymanski went a combined 3-7.

Prior to the July 23 county final, Father & Son will travel to East Brunswick to close out the regular season with a 5:45 p.m. game tomorrow.